Zvezda 8022 Russian artillery 1812-1814

The Russian army at the end of the 18th century was probably the largest and arguably one of the strongest armies in Europe. During the reign of Catherine II the Great (1762-1796), she won several important victories in the course of the wars with Turkey, won the war with Poland in 1792 and was instrumental in suppressing the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. Also in the course of the wars with revolutionary France (1792-1799), she did not show her wrong side. However, the defeats at Austerlitz (1805) and at Iława Pruska and especially at Frydland (1807) forced changes in the Russian army, which also affected its artillery. It is worth adding that the Russian field artillery had both classic guns and unicorns, which were characterized by a relatively high range. The core of the Russian field artillery was made up of 6- and 12-pounder cannons as well as "half-pound" (152 mm) and "quarter-box" (120 mm) cannons. At the beginning of the 1812 campaign, the total artillery (scattered throughout the empire!) Can be estimated at about 1400-1500 guns. Of course, a smaller number of guns were concentrated against the Napoleonic army. The field artillery in 1812 was divided into 44 heavy companies, 58 light companies and 22 horse artillery companies, which in turn (from 1806) formed artillery brigades. It is worth adding that the foot artillery brigade after 1806 was most often (though not always!) Composed of 24-36 guns. In 1814, the Russian field artillery consisted of 28 foot artillery brigades (dedicated to infantry units), 15 horse artillery companies (cooperating with the cavalry), 2 heavy artillery companies (stationed in the Caucasus region) and two single companies of light and heavy artillery.